Hawks should rebuild into an International Team

[Guest Riv]

Thats right, no american players! Draft guys from europe, sign guys who are FAs, trade for whoever, do what it takes.

Pavel, Tony Parker, Diaw, Peitrus, Peja, Nowitzki, Yao, Gasol, Zydrunas, Kirilenko etc....I know it would never happen but imagine if a team took that route?

[TheDude]

i thought they were called the Dallas Mavericks?

[chillzatl]

easily championship calibre....except in one department, leadership. You've got a whole bunch of great players who are great team players. But none of them are leaders. Parker is about as close as it gets and even he has problems maintaining that mindset and focus.

I'd love to have any two of those guys on my team though.

[cyman3]

im really hoping that YAO steps it up... no, not his game. But leadership. He needs to be more selfish and take over. A guy with that height, whos so gifted offensively, should DEMAND THE BALL more often.

dont u guys agree?

[pathway23]

I really think Francis hurts Houston more than helps...he really reminds me of JT, but he has help to cover up some of his errors, Cat Mobley is better help than JT has ever had in the backcourt (Boris is still developing, and Cat is a vet)....

[chillzatl]

and is far and away the best Center beyond Shaq. Shaq is more dominant yes. Simply because he demands the ball and believes he cannot be stopped. If Yao thought like that, he could put up 30 a game. He's made big strides this year, IMO. He's learning that the team only goes as far as he takes it and doing more. I also think his conditioning is improving. It's very likely that he could be the best center in the league in another 2 years.

[Diesel]

Yao is not a defender.

Guys look forward to dunking on him. It won't be long before Vince scales Yao for the poster shot.

However, Yao's defense is very weak. In fact, you say that Yao is the best C this side of Shaq? Hmm. I like Brad Miller. I think that Yao does need to develop a Killer instinct... But that's typical of most Europlayers. Guys like Peja and Dirk are the exceptions. Most of the Europlayers come over with a soft game and very few of them can play good 1 on 1 defense.

[Lascar78]

Peja, Dirk, and AK aren't leaders?? right... They might not all be vocal leaders, but they're leaders alright

[chillzatl]

I've seen all three of those guys play plenty of games this season and I don't think any of those guys are leaders. Sure they might be leaders in that they lead their teams in scoring and whatnot. But none of them are vocal leaders and that's what EVERY team needs to be a champion.

Sacramento has several leaders, Vlade, Webber, Bibby. But Peja isn't a leader on that team.

AK could eventually become the vocal leader of the Jazz. I would say that he's the most capable right now, out of all those guys. But he's still not there yet.

[BlackHawkDown]

The biggest problem I have with your lineup is that none of them play D except Diaw, Parker and Gasol and they only play average or slightly above average D.

Yao is a heartless pansy just like reef. Only problem is Reef's talent compensates for his lack of passion. Yao depends on his size which he isnt that good at using it. 9rpg and less than 2bpg. I am not impressed @ his size his power #s should be better.

[TheDude]

it's his 2nd year...i think yao will be fine...

[CHORO44]

Once Yao starts sealing off his defender every possession and Francis gets traded then you too will believe in the power of YAO!. I didn't believe he was that good until I was forced to watch the stinking Rockets on TNT the past few days. With Ewing working on his post game I've seen tremendous growth from Yao and believe that improved conditioning combined with more shot attempts will help him.

[Lascar78]

so who would you say was the big vocal leader on last year's champion spurs? If it's parker he's on the list. You're crazy if you think it's duncan. He's quiet as anyone. So were Robinson, Kerr, etc... Rose yaps alot, but he causes problems more than bring leadership. Kevin Willis was vocal but only played 12 minutes a game. So who was the big talented vocal leader you claim is necessary?

There wasn't one, and the reason is there is no need for one. If all players are smart players and true professionals, they don't need other players to motivate or lead them, they know what they're doing. If anything it's the coach's job to lead and motivate. In some cases players can be vocal leaders but it's no necessity to win or be a champion.

Stop with the euro bashing already. There are plenty of euros who are leaders whether they do it vocally like Vlade, or by example like AK or Peja. The fact is they tend to be less vocal when they don't master the language as well but it doesn't matter.

Being willing to make big plays at big times is much more important than being a vocal character

[chillzatl]

Hey i'm not euro bashing. I'm one of the biggest euro proponents on this site. But I'm not crazy. Most of those guys are way too reserved to be leaders. Whether it's their personality or because they aren't from this country, very few of the euro players are leaders.

The spurs are an anomoly. I think Duncan is one of their leaders, simply because of the way he plays. I think the other is their coach. Very few teams could get away with that. But because Duncan is the MAN on that team and he has all the respect in the world for Pop, the rest of the team follows suit.

[cyman3]

Avery Johnson was the lockerroom and vocal leader durin the PRE-DUNCAN days.

while Robinson was the best player on the team, he wasnt the vocal leader by any means.